FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -
Tech’s men and women’s sprinters and hurdlers advanced to the semifinal rounds as Tech faced the nation’s top competition at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville Friday.

Lady Techster hurdler Kim Francis was the closest to advancing to the finals, falling one spot short by six-thousandths (0.006) of a second. Her semifinal time of 8.40 placed her ninth, one spot away from advancement. Francis, a Lafayette, La. native, ran 8.42 in the prelims to advance to the next round.

In the women’s 60m dash, Kimberly Smith moved on to the semifinals with a prelims time of 7.44 but finished 17th in the semifinals with a time of 7.47 to fall short of advancing.

On the men’s side, Dennis Richardson ran 6.74 in the semifinals of the 60m dash – the sixth-fastest time in school history. His time of 6.75 in the prelims is now the eighth-fastest time in program history. Niko Richey followed him in the prelims with a time of 6.92.

Alwayne Green finished seventh in the 800m with a time of 1:55.23 while Jermaine Morris ran 1:55.87 to place 12th as he ran a season-best time.

Tech also had distance runners finish in the top 25 as Paul Sakit ran 4:12.34 in the mile to place 19th while Matt Wolfe finished 21st with a time of 4:12.79.

This weekend’s action marks the final regular season competition of the indoor season for Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs and Lady Techsters will head to the Western Athletic Conference Indoor Championships on Feb. 21-23 in Albuquerque, N.M.

For complete coverage of Tech Track and Field, please follow @LATechTandF on Twitter or visit the official home of Louisiana Tech Athletics at LATechSports.com.